[amsat-bb] Re: Linear transponder versus FM transponder for LEOsatellites

[Alan VE4YZ]

> i8CVS Domenico wrote...
> The problem here with many new and young satellite operators 
> is like to have many young sparrow that don't know how good 
> is the flavour of wheat

> Joe WB9SBD wrote
> 
> I still to this day fail to see how hard it is to twist a VFO knob.
> 
> Have we all become soo much appliance operators that we all have 
> forgot to know how to turn a VFO knob to keep someone in tune?

> OZ1MY wrote:
> Why not just be happy to get one more transponder for us to use ?
> ...
> It is interesting to note that there are far moreoperators on the
> FM transponder satellites than on the linear satellites 
> in Low Earth  Orbit.
> 
>...I think we should say thank you to our friends in SA for 
> a new one.

I find it easy to on side with many of these and similar comments.  I don't
believe they are mutually exclusive.  It is easy to agree to all these.  And
another BIG THANK YOU from EN19 too!

So rather than waiting for an expensive and probably impossible ride for an
AMSAT built satellite LEO or otherwise, FM vs Linear Transponder, perhaps it
is time for AMSAT UK, DL, NA et al to be proactive and DONATE a transponder
and antennas to the next university CubeSat or Pico sat project.  Something
such as PE1RAH William Leijenaar's transponder board.  A RFP to all those
universities now in the planning stages could be sent, an international
AMSAT review committee struck to evaluate the merits of those submissions
and then finally an annual ( or more often ) donation of the hardware.  And
to heck with ITAR.  If AMSAT NA is hamstrung then I authorize them to take
my life membership and transfer the remaining unused portion to AMSAT DL, UK
etc.

We buy, they ride and in the spirit of the "Delfi Model" we all win.

And then there is the Genso initiative to assist those universities in
near-whole-earth-orbit data acquisition.

Wow.. Why wouldn't they buy into that.

I've stated it here before and I'll repeat it.  I don't believe we will ever
see another HEO.  We amateurs need to connect with, mentor to and volunteer
for cube sat and pico sat efforts that are being initiated at the university
level.  They have the funding, sweat equity and the rides. 

And a final reminder, they don't need a ham licence to download telemetry
for their science experiments on UHF.  They really don't need us.  We need
them.  UHF; we are the secondary user.

Well, actually one more final reminder.  We cannot on one hand dumb
everything down to an FM HT experience and on the other hand with the AO-40
model do CC-Rider, baud rates in excess of 9K6 etc.  There is even a smaller
installed base of equipment for those modes than the linear transponder SSB
on UHF and VHF.  So I don't buy into the argument that FM is the only way to
go just because there are more handy talkies than SSB base stations.  If
that was valid then AO-40 with all it's exotic modes should never have got
off the drawing board.

What would y'all do with a dozen FO-29's or VO-52's or a dozen DO-64's with
a working voice transponder or even a dozen SO-67's?  They are being planned
and built right now all around that world in universities and they will be
flying with or without us.  We can standby and wait.  Then complain after
they are launched.  Or you can check out what your local university is doing
right now and get involved.   They all need to set up and learn how to run a
ground station and that is an expertise you have and they need.  You can
train them to get their licences so they can do their command and control.
There are lots of ways to contribute other than writing a chegue.

We have a political saying up here "If you didn't vote, you have no business
complaining about your government".  There is an analogy for amateur radio.

Stepping off the soap box...

73, Alan VE4YZ
EN19kv
AMSAT LM 2352 
http://www.wincube.ca